The Effect of Production and Post-Harvest Processing Practices on Quality Attributes in Centella asiatica (L.) Urban—A Review

Abstract

Centella asiatica is well known for its miraculous therapeutic properties in various systems of traditional medicine across the world. However, significant variation in its pharmacological activities has been reported due to the unavailability of quality raw material and non-standardized formulations. A number of research papers have been published on the collection of C. asiatica plants from different regions for the identification of a suitable agroclimate with elite germplasms. Efforts have been made to standardize production and post-harvest practices for the availability of quality raw material with a high centelloside content. The ecological niche modeling approach revealed that the Indian subcontinent has high climatic suitability for the production of C. asiatica, and genotypes with a high content of centelloside were predominantly found in the Western Ghats, North East, Eastern Himalaya and Western Himalaya in India. Open cultivation of C. asiatica is more suitable in these agroclimatic zones in India. Cultivation under shade is also suitable in the plains of Central India. Hydroponic and tissue culture of C. asiatica has also been successfully established for the enhanced production of centelloside using supplements and elicitors such as sucrose, auxins, cytokinins, kinetin, methyl jasmonate, etc. Freeze drying has been identified as the most efficient post-harvest method for the high pharmacological activities of C. asiatica extracts.